Chapter Text
"For heaven's sake, stop whinging and unpack."
"I hate unpacking," Albus said. He hung with his head upside down on the bed and stretched his thin arms across the covers. "Let me wallow in misery."
Footsteps sounded by his side. Albus smiled to himself, coy, as Scorpius appeared above him, smirking. His kind face contrasted against the dark, mossy bricks of the Slytherin dorms.
Albus wondered how the reek of muck didn't worsen as the years continued --as the gentle rocking of the lake waves slapped against the castle walls and eroded them away. The emerald shades failed to brighten the dungeons; not even dim candles, or the flickering orange fireplace, could warm the freezing rooms.
"And why are you miserable, Albus Severus?" Scorpius questioned. He crouched down; closer to Albus' face. His lips painted in a smug, humoured grin.
"Because I'm back at school."
Albus pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes. He rolled over, attempting to put some distance between himself and Scorpius in order to calm the racing in his chest.
"But you're with me," Scorpius commented. He stood up straight and stepped out of Albus' view. "And, you're a drama queen."
"And you're a git." Albus shot upward and pulled his shoe from his foot. He launched it at the back of Scorpius' head, counting his lucky stars when the boy ducked at the last moment. He burst into laughter as his best friend spun to look at him, his finger raised.
"Oi!"
"I was putting my shoes by the door!"
Scorpius said nothing, yet rolled his eyes and dove back into his well-organised trunk. Albus watched him for only a moment before flopping back onto the bed.
There had never been a year in which he didn't leave his unpacking until the last moment possible. Or his re-packing — for that matter. Honestly, Albus doubted he'd unpacked his whole trunk since the first year. He didn't see the purpose; others didn't touch his belongings if they had been stowed away in his father's old battered trunk. He had enough experience with bratty siblings to prefer it that way.
"There's already cat hair all over my bed," Scorpius whinged. "Wrangle your kitten, please."
"My man goes where he wants when he pleases."
"And where is that, currently?"
Albus sat up and clapped his hands together. He glanced around at the room, soon furrowing his eyebrows. "Great question! So glad you asked. Um, I don't know. Probably chasing Polly Chapman's bitchass ferret."
Scorpius simply rolled his eyes, playfully. After a moment, Albus flopped back onto his bunk. He listened to the chaotic sounds of Scorpius as they echoed from around the room; to the closet, to the bathroom, the door, the window, and back again — and Albus found himself calmed by the constant rhythmic action. He allowed his eyes to flicker closed as he lay in the shade of his hangings. The fire crackled by his feet; encased in a cage that protected the boys from slipping into the hot coals during the night. Albus' head grew heavy; tired from the summer nights when he slept too little in a horrible schedule.
"You haven't cleaned your teeth," said a soft voice by his shoulder, a long while later. Fingers trailed over the soft fabric of Albus' cotton pyjama shirt, tender and careful not to wake him too quickly.
"'S okay," Albus mumbled, rolling to face the figure.
He knew he could likely melt inside each time Scorpius found the courage to gently run a hand down his arm. Sometimes, the blond boy shook him awake to whisper that he'd come back safely from patrol, or mumbled about distant nightmares. Albus never refused to slide over and make room for Scorpius when the latter occurred; guilty with nausea in his stomach due to the secret satisfaction he gained from curling into Scorpius to sleep. He'd happily do it daily, so long as he never had to talk to Scorpius about it.
Talking to Scorpius about his feelings could quite possibly be the worst thing that Albus would ever have to do, so he avoided it like the plague. Never once, in his three years of being hopelessly in love with Scorpius, had he ever even come close to blurting the small, earth-shattering phrase — purely due to terror. That didn't stop his feelings from growing, every single day like an ever-blooming flower in his chest -- a dull tug that nudged him to go wherever Scorpius went.
Albus positively adored his best friend. Scorpius had warm, humid, cloudy eyes and slightly crooked teeth. In the colder months, soft pink freckles appeared over his nose; like cherry blossom leaves, highlighting the rose shading of his lips. His platinum hair proved softer than the fluffy sheets he laid in during winter, (Albus knew this because he took every single opportunity to touch it, purely to mess it up, and piss Scorpius off). He stood taller than Albus, by half a foot, but Albus only found it easier to run rings around his constantly stressed friend. Undeniably, Scorpius proved handsome; he took care of himself, and those around him. People never commented, Albus thought they'd have to be blind to think someone could ever prove more beautiful than Scorpius.
It helped, of course, that Scorpius had a heart full of gold. Albus couldn't remember a time when Scorpius had ever ignored the struggling of another individual, even if he found himself in a dark place. Out of everyone he'd ever met, Scorpius had — by far — the biggest drive to be kind to others. He had the patience of Gods and an excitable, puppy-like personality that occasionally caught the attention of timid younger students with questions. He never displayed his anger or annoyance; Albus nearly believed that Scorpius didn't know how to access those emotions. Certainly, Scorpius had a well-exercised stress muscle, due to the amount of effort he put into his studies and prefect duties, but somehow — he always found time for Albus.
No matter what.
The hand disappeared from Albus' shoulder. He woke, barely, seconds after, as Scorpius carefully untucked the tight covers. The room had been plunged into darkness, save for the crackling grate. Albus could only make out the side of Scorpius' carved face in the dim orange lighting as he lifted himself beneath the sheets. He sunk into the comfort of the warm bedding; soft around his heavy, tired limbs. Scorpius pulled the blankets around his shoulders, and Albus curled beneath them.
"Goodnight, Bud," Scorpius whispered down his ear. Albus' body ran with a chill; nervous, yet excited. "I'm going out."
"Be safe," Albus murmured, lacking coherency as he rolled over, hiding his face in the sheets. He listened as Scorpius, very carefully, pulled the hangings closed around his four-poster and walked to the door, allowing it to click shut seconds after.
"I love you," Albus whispered distantly to himself, pushing the palms of his hands into his eyes.
No, he'd never dare blurt out such a fact. Not to Scorpius, nor to anyone, really. He preferred admiring the tall, friendly giant in silence, putting his heart and soul into keeping that stupid, dimple-ridden grin on Scorpius' bright, illuminated face.
"You are a loser."
"Now, is that a nice thing to say to me?"
Albus shrugged, smiling to himself. He kept a smart grin on his face. Scorpius frowned, reaching up to squeeze Albus' cheeks in order to remove the ditzy expression. The brunet reached up to push Scorpius away, his darker skin heavily contrasted against Scorpius' pale hands. Albus whined that his best friend's hands were cold.
"I can't help it," Scorpius muttered. He stowed his fingers into the pockets of his trousers, clicking his shoes on the tiles as he took steps towards the Great Hall.
Albus was slightly worried that he'd hurt Scorpius' feelings. He ducked his head, ashamed, and nibbled on his bottom lip. Not a moment later, something cold ripped at the pressure points at the base of his neck. He squirmed out of Scorpius' hold as the blond boy roared with laughter, his head tipped back. Albus worked hard not to laugh, finding the giggles incredibly infectious... (and cute).
"Git. That's why you have no friends."
"Well, I've got more friends than you."
"The second years don't count."
"Excuse me? You can't discredit them purely because of their age. They always ask me for help in the library. That's friendship if you ask me."
"I always ask James for help, and we aren't friends."
"You're siblings."
"Yes, I know that. Thank you for the genetics lesson."
Scorpius rolled his eyes; amused. Albus considered it a silent victory that his best friend had nothing to say in return. The brunet boy adopted a smug grin as they continued walking. Albus watched as Scorpius' pale hand wrapped around the strap of his bag to hold it steady and rolled his tongue against his lip. Albus glanced away, slightly pink in the face.
Scorpius didn't even have to try to look handsome. He just did.
"Don't have a comeback?" Albus teased, attempting to continue their previous conversation.
He would admit it, of course, that he'd quickly become addicted to the smaller, snarky fights that he and Scorpius endured. Albus enjoyed it, finding the correct comment or comeback — and having Scorpius bounce from it like popcorn. It gave him a rush, a sense of fire in his veins as they bickered, play-fighting with smiles; watching Scorpius' face redden as he thought of the perfect comeback.
"Hmm?" Scorpius said, distant. "I was thinking, what did you say?"
Albus' smile fell, only slightly. He shook his head and waved a hand. "Oh, don't worry. It wasn't important."
Scorpius offered him a sweet grin. Albus couldn't help but beam in return, stuffing his hand into his pockets to find something to do with them; other than toying with the idea of carefully sliding his hand down the inside of Scorpius' arm to softly interlace their fingers. He wanted to, of course, but couldn't. It proved too tender, too romantic... too out of bounds of the soft, playful friendship that they shared. Unfortunately, Scorpius, socially, was not an idiot. He'd be able to find the reasoning behind it in his mind of a thousand questions, like a needle in a haystack.
He proved absolutely brilliant in every aspect of life, and Albus wanted to hate him for it. He couldn't, of course, because he could never think negatively about Scorpius, no matter how hard he tried. Malfoy, without a doubt, proved the best friend that anyone could ever have, and Albus simply lived a life of conceited smugness above those who didn't share his view. At the end of the day, those people lost — because, really, would their best friend best over backwards for them at every single opportunity? Albus didn't think so.
"I'm bloody tired," Albus muttered. He rubbed at his eye, eventually carding those same fingertips through his soft, freshly-washed hair. It only bounced back into its original position; dusted from his head and shiny.
"You slept for about... ten hours yesterday," Scorpius giggled. "Did I accidentally befriend a puppy?"
"Dogs are disgusting, never say that to me again. I'm a cat person."
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Maybe you slept too much, or you're not used to doing so much during the day. Your body should adjust pretty quickly, so long as you get a proper schedule; enough food, enough sleep, enough rest in between doing homework."
Albus snorted. "I'm not doing homework."
"Just because we don't have N.E.W.T's this year doesn't mean that you have no homework, you'll need to keep up — for next year."
Albus never, ever, liked to inflate Scorpius' ego about these matters. He simply huffed and crossed his arms across his chest, holding onto the railing as the two of them made their way into the Entrance Hall. Although Scorpius said nothing, he flashed some of his teeth at Albus. The brunet waited until he'd glanced away to offer a melted expression to the floor, head-over-heels for his beloved best friend.
Albus slipped into a seat at the end of the table. He made to grab for some chicken but faltered as his stomach churned dismissively. Suddenly, he didn't find himself too hungry, and the thought of wolfing down the warm food caused his throat to clench. He took a sip of water to reduce the sticky sensation in his throat.
Scorpius nudged him. "Eat something, Bud."
"I'm not... I'm not really hungry," Albus said softly.
Scorpius shot him a look, raising an eyebrow. "Nonsense, you're always hungry. Not that I'm judging you — of course, but... well, you are."
"Well, maybe I'm just not hungry today."
Scorpius appeared almost hurt by Albus' off-handed, dismissive reaction. He didn't say anything, piling his own plate with a decent amount of lunch. Albus fiddled with his robe as Scorpius ate, eventually leaning over to whisper gossip that he'd heard through the grapevine. He watched as Scorpius' face painted with surprise and smiled to himself.
"You're sure you're not hungry?" Scorpius whispered, moments later.
"Nope."
"Could you eat something, please? Just to put my mind at ease."
Albus, frustrated, lifted a large spoonful of vegetables onto his golden dinnerware. He refused to look Scorpius in the face as he started to stab at it with his fork, his fingers twitching beneath the table. Due to the buildup of anger in his chest, he failed to dwell on the discomfort of the warm vegetables going down his dry oesophagus.
Despite the awkward sensation, the calm expression on Scorpius' stoic face put his mind at ease. He took it as a slight reward — he'd relaxed Scorpius ever so slightly, and that mattered.
"I'm trying to concentrate," Scorpius muttered. He slapped away Albus' imposing hands, which poked at his side and agitated him. Albus only continued when Scorpius reacted, undeterred by the boy's annoyance. The brunet jabbed his index fingers into Scorpius' hip, begging for attention. The blond glowered at him, snapping his fingers around Albus' wrist. He whispered, roughly, "Stop!"
"No! I want attention," Albus whinged. "I'm bored."
"You should be studying." Scorpius continued to wrestle with his friend's hands, attempting to keep them out of his space.
Albus raised his voice. "Are you telling me to study because I'm Indian? That's very racist."
Scorpius snatched his fingers away. "Albus, oh my god." He whispered, putting his red face into his hands.
Unfortunately, Albus' obnoxious comment caught the attention of students nearby. The quiet library rustled as the focus floated to Scorpius' maroon face and Albus' smug expression. The boy received a sharp push to the arm as Scorpius stood up and moved to a seat on the other side of the table. Finally, Albus bit his lip, wary he'd overstepped. He put his head down and tried to focus on the assessment beneath his hands. Though, he'd never struggled so greatly to sit and read a textbook; he couldn't seem to keep his eyes trained on the lines of text.
After some time, Scorpius stood and returned to the seat by Albus' side. The boy shot his friend a sweet smile to prove he wasn't upset (even though Albus knew that he'd have to give a genuine apology later). Rather than continuing to walk, he packed up his belongings despite hesitating to put them into his bag. He shuffled to Albus' side, tugging his chair close. Scorpius' hand draped across the back of Albus' wooden chair, sending butterflies to the pit of the brunet's stomach.
"How's that essay?" Scorpius whispered.
"I can't concentrate," Albus muttered, tugging at his hair.
"Would you like some help?"
Albus nodded, lowering his quill to the desk. Slowly and steadily, Scorpius helped him plan out his essay. Their breaths mixed as they spoke in near-silent whispers, glancing between the page and textbook as Albus wrote down their ideas on the parchment beneath his hand. It took every ounce of focus in the younger boy's mind not to lean too closely into Scorpius' grip -- to shuffle forward and press their lips together to stop Scorpius' words burning his ear.
It would have been so simple, but it would have ruined everything they had.
"Ready to go back to the dorm?" Scorpius asked as Albus scribbled the closing line of his conclusion down on the scrap of paper beneath his hand.
"Sure!"
Together, they rose from their seats and slipped out of the half-abandoned library. Their shoes snapped against the tiles as they made the journey to the common room, ensuring to take every shortcut that they knew of.
"Sorry for being a jerk in the library," Albus said.
Scorpius blinked and waved a hand. "No worries. It was funny. I was only frightened we'd get told off."
"Thank god, I thought that I'd upset you."
Scorpius shook his head, smiling. They made their way through the darkened halls, watching the flickering of candles on the walls. The flames cast a red-orange glow onto the floors, and they illuminated the dim corridors. Despite their efforts, the darkness seeped in through the glassless windows; mixing orange with varying shades of blue. Simple, shimmery stars illuminated the outside sky; constellations were hidden behind puffy clouds. Scorpius watched the sky as they passed, his face illuminated with a pale shading due to the moon's glow. Albus watched the side of Scorpius' face, smiling to himself at the wonderstruck expression.
The two boys made their way down twisting staircases and trailed their hands along the walls as their throbbing feet continued to step. Albus began to whinge and Scorpius listened to every word, silent, yet smiling.
"Shh! People are coming."
Scorpius held a hand across Albus' chest as the loud whisper echoed across the hall. The blond frowned, raising his ear to listen. Albus resisted the urge to tease his friend for displaying such canine behaviour; for attempting to scope out rule-breaking students through listening. He stayed quiet, allowing the prefect to perform his duties, tugging on the strap of his bag as he waited.
"I'll have to give you the map for patrolling," Albus whispered, after a second. "It'll make your life easier."
"I'd be honoured," Scorpius replied. "Shh..."
Albus blinked, glancing out the nearby window. He could have sworn the sound of a quiet footstep echoed from his left. Without thinking (considering he'd seen such a trick many, many times), the boy reached up and tugged at the air. Nothing grazed his fingertips, so he repeated his intrusive gesture. Sure enough, his hand hit soft fabric. He gave a sharp tug and took a step back, causing two figures to appear. He didn't glance at them, resisting the urge to puff his chest; proud to be a well-behaved sidekick to Scorpius during a quest. He glanced at the boy for a small gesture of thankfulness, or something to solidify his victory.
He didn't get one.
"Why are you out of bed, young lady?" Scorpius asked pointedly, crossing his arms.
Albus wrapped his father's invisibility cloak over his arm and took some steps back, recognising his sister before noticing a mysterious male figure. Immediately, his desperation for Scorpius' approval vanished as a red tint passed over his vision.
"Who the fuck is this?" Albus asked, irritated. "What do you think you're doing, sneaking out at night with a boy?"
Lily crossed her arms and stamped her foot. "Is that not what you are doing right now?"
"I'm not trying to fuck Scorpius behind a tapestry, am I?" Albus glowered.
But, hey, it would be nice.
Lily let out an agitated groan. Her partner appeared uncomfortable, fiddling with his fingers as he looked between Scorpius and Albus. The petite girl crossed her hands over her chest, flicking her curly red hair over her shoulder. "You're out of the dorms!"
"We're walking back from the library," Albus retorted. He lifted the cloak in his fingers. "Did you steal this?"
"No."
"I highly doubt that James willingly gave it to you. Tell me the truth."
"God, you are so annoying! Stop assuming that I'm dating all of my male friends!"
"That's not what I'm doing! I'm commenting on your behaviour. I'd be mad if you'd snuck out with a female friend, too, because the fact of the matter remains the same — you are a fourteen-year-old girl, out of bed with someone who is inspiring you to act suspicious. Don't flip this around and make me seem like an asshole."
"You are an asshole! You need to stay out of my business and leave me alone."
"Not when you're toeing the line of suspension on the third day of your fourth year. Am I correct? Your fourth year. To reiterate, you are fourteen."
"I fucking heard you the first four times!" Lily roared, stomping her foot once more. It echoed down the hall with a defining click. Albus couldn't hide the smug, unbelieving smile from passing over his face at her reaction. Certainly, he'd caught her redhanded doing something. She flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Stop parenting me, you're not a saint."
"No, but I'd never do something so reckless and stupid. Speaking of parents, too, I'm telling ours, and I'm taking the cloak. Have fun in detention."
Lily tugged at her hair. "I fucking hate you, sometimes. I'll get caught!"
"You can hate me. I'm looking out for you. Good brothers humble you and teach you that you have consequences for your actions, which can't be explained away purely because you're a princess," Albus stated plainly. He turned to Scorpius, who leaned against the wall, smirking. "Do you need to tell them off?"
The boy shook his head, shrugging. "Nope, it's not my patrolling night. They'll be seen by the Hufflepuff prefects searching Gryffindor tower, though." Scorpius offered the two a wave. "Walk safely, Lily!"
Albus couldn't help but smile at Scorpius as the blond gestured that they were to continue walking. Lily stormed off down the hall with her companion in tow, and Albus cast a glance over his shoulder to watch her disappear. Once confident she'd vanished out of earshot, he turned to Scorpius.
"Was I too harsh?"
"I don't think so. She was out of bed like you said; acting suspiciously. Considering that she's a young girl, I think you were right to lay into her as you did. She broke the rules."
Albus nodded. "I was worried... so thanks. I don't want her to hate me, in any regard, but I mean... if she's sneaking out of bed with boys — I just, I think that behaviour should be addressed by my parents, that's all."
"Well, I support your decision. I think that's a good move. You'd make a great prefect, by the way. Excellent job scouting her out." Scorpius reached out, ruffling Albus' hair. The brunet's stomach fluttered.
"You're welcome." He grinned. "I meant it, too. I'll give you the map."
"Bless you, Albus Severus." Scorpius smiled. "What would I do without you?"
Albus didn't say anything. He offered Scorpius a bright, cheesy smile and turned a magnificent shade of pink when his friend reached up, grinning, to squeeze his cheeks. It hardly helped that Scorpius scrunched his nose, only slightly, when he did so.
Albus had nearly talked himself out of bringing Lily up with James. He couldn't decide that meddling in her life would work out in his favour and hated to admit that it did register to him as slightly awkward to take something so personal into his own hands. More than anything, Albus found himself frightened that his parents would chastise him for attempting to 'parent' Lily when, maybe, it wasn't his business.
But Albus couldn't help believing otherwise, especially considering that his parents were not present. Really, he could do no wrong by showing concern about his little sister.
As always, when conflicted, Albus had his human diary to talk to. So, he didn't hesitate to voice his concerns over a half-eaten bowl of oatmeal the next morning.
"Well, put it this way — it's always better to be safe than sorry. Maybe, she's doing the right thing, and you can trust her. However, maybe she isn't. I don't think your parents will berate you if you tell them about your worries. I'm sure they'd be grateful that you're recognising that looking after Lily is a job that they are temporarily unable to do, so you're making their lives easier. I mean, you were a nightmare when you were younger, but James told your parents about it. Did you feel violated? I'm sure that you did, yes. But, are you grateful?"
Albus didn't even have to think about it. "Of course, I'm grateful. I'm happier now."
"Precisely. And, if you think about it, she is still breaking a rule, even if it isn't as intense as you'd think. She's still sneaking around the castle when she should be in Gryffindor tower. Telling James could be useful, because he's closer to her, and he can help you keep her on a bit of a leash."
"I should still tell my parents, though?"
"I think that you could probably go about it in a dignified way if you're worried. You don't really need to insinuate anything, just... you know, allow them to make inferences." Scorpius offered him a smile across the table, spooning some of his cereal into his mouth. "Even if you don't tell them," he said, breaking the silence some moments later. "I would tell James. But, again, maybe that's just me. And, again, maybe you don't need to say anything specific at all. I mean, Lily stole his cloak, and you found her with it; after curfew, with a boy."
Albus nodded. He reached into his bag, holding out an old, battered, faded piece of parchment. "You've passed the test."
Scorpius' eyes flashed in mischief. He took the piece of paper, thanking Albus. "I didn't realise there was one."
"I'm only kidding, I put it in my bag last night and I just remembered to give it to you."
Scorpius frowned, almost. "Shame, because that would have been the easiest test of my life."
Albus stood, abandoning his breakfast. "I'm going to talk to him."
"Oh, er, you're not going to eat?"
"I'm not hungry."
Scorpius cast a glance from Albus' face to the bowl of cereal on the tabletop. He pressed his lips together, his brows furrowed slightly. His spoon hung in the air, where he'd almost swallowed a mouthful before becoming distracted. "...Okay."
"Have fun in Arithmancy?" Albus tried, bending to the side enough to poke his face into Scorpius' view. The blond boy glanced up at him and smiled.
"I'll try, I promise."
Albus stepped out from the bench. He pulled his bag onto his shoulder and crossed the hall, attempting to locate James on the table of rambunctious Gryffindors. Really, it didn't prove hard. As always, James had surrounded himself with a crowd of giggling teenagers and spoke enthusiastically while waving his hands around. The sea of red and yellow should have proved intimidating to Albus, but he'd long since stopped caring what others thought.
He reached out, lightly shaking James' shoulder. The boy whipped around, his eyes lowering into a slight frown. "What, nerd?"
"I need to talk to you."
James' face changed; he adopted a confused, slightly sympathetic expression. He took another bite of toast. "You okay?"
"It'll only take a moment."
James turned to his friends. He spoke through a mouthful of food (which Albus found repulsive, but realistically, he couldn't get that through James' skull). "I'll be back."
He brought his toast, wiping his crumbed hand on his trousers. He offered Albus a smile; his cheeks full and well stuffed with breakfast. Albus rolled his eyes, playful. James appeared to stand slightly taller, puffing his chest. Seconds after the two of them had stepped out of the room, the younger boy heard quick footsteps on the floor. He closed his eyes and took a breath. James shot him a weird look.
"What's up?"
"Albus is an asshole!" Lily said quickly as she appeared; a fiery tornado of red hair and anger. Her shoes clicked against the tiles, and she crossed her arms across her chest.
"Go away, he wants to talk to me," James said. He pushed on Lily's shoulder, yet it only seemed to ignite her further. She made to grab his arm and he snapped it from her hold, pointing in her face. "Don't touch me."
"Don't point in my face!" Lily yelled.
Albus wondered how she found herself disembarrassed as a result of the temper tantrum she had chosen to throw in front of a majority of the school. Albus hardly wanted to stand in the middle of their bickering and stepped out of view of the doors. He leaned against the wall, waiting, as Lily and James continued to argue.
Really, Albus believed that Lily should have realised that James would not take her side in their argument if she continued to treat him like trash.
"Go away!" James hissed, finally standing across from Albus.
"Nope! I want to know what is being said about me," Lily crossed her arms and stuck her nose up in the air. Albus chose to ignore her.
"This is yours," Albus said, pulling the invisibility cloak out from his pocket. James snatched it from his fingers, glowering. Albus held up his hands, immediately. "I didn't take it. Lily did. I caught her with it last night when she was out of the dorms without permission, with a friend."
"Which friend?"
Lily pursed her lips and looked at Albus. "A nice friend."
"I didn't ask his name." Albus shrugged.
"His?" As Albus expected, James had much of the same reaction that he had himself. He listened as Lily received another lecture, her face steaming as James grilled her. It went on, and on... definitely for much longer than Albus' fight with her had, and the younger son much believed he'd hate to be in her position.
Not that he ever would, Scorpius kept him on a tight leash that he'd titled 'good behaviour'.
"Look at the bags beneath your eyes, too! They're dark. Have you been sleeping at all?"
"Yes! Just not last night."
James turned to Albus. "You agree with me, right? I'm not insane?"
"Nope. I've given Scorpius the map, in case he needs it; being a prefect on night duty, and all. Also, I was going to write to mum and dad about her being out of bed."
Lily tugged at her piggy tails and stormed off. James watched her with a shocked expression, soon turning back and raising his eyebrows at Albus. "Jesus, you weren't that much of a nightmare."
"That's the biggest compliment, thank you, James."
"You're welcome. Bring me that letter, later. I'm going to help you write it."
"SO... I need to ask you a question," Scorpius said loudly, entering the dark, cold dorm much later that evening. He leant on the frame, holding onto the beams across his head.
Albus pulled back his hangings to see Scorpius' face, frowning. "Uh, okay, asshole. I might have been sleeping."
His friend pulled a face. He gestured to the candle illuminated upon the boy's bed. It cast flickering orange light over the black floorboards and proved that Albus, in fact, had not even been trying to rest. As much was further proved by the pages spread over Albus' bed. Alongside that, a fluffy orange cat occupied the boy's lap; taking up permanent residence.
"Okay, fair."
Scorpius bent over to call the feline to attention; which he gained easily. It rolled free of Albus' legs and came over to brush over Scorpius' dark cloak. "Hello, Rango," Scorpius cooed, crouching down to run his nails over the kitten's head.
Albus tipped his head to the side. He watched Scorpius and Rango for a moment before he raised an eyebrow. "What's your question?"
"If I... um... dated your cousin," Scorpius said, unable to look Albus in the eye. "Would you be mad?"
"You want to date Hugo? Scorpius, he's thirteen, that's disgusting."
"Oh, my god. I meant Rose."
Albus clenched his teeth. He rolled his tongue in his mouth, attempting not to appear too bratty and yell 'of course you fucking can't', despite how much he wished he could. In the same way that Rose and Scorpius were similar, they were complete opposites. Albus and Scorpius weren't completely identical either, he supposed, but their constant banter made up for the difference. Albus wasn't sure that Rose would take Scorpius' playful insults like Albus did (and of course, she couldn't — because Albus was perfect for Scorpius, and Rose was not). Besides... Rose could be a drama queen at the best of times, and Albus thought that Scorpius deserved much better than a girl he had to chase whilst playing servant.
Of course, this was hardly the first that Albus had heard in regard to Scorpius' crush on Rose. He'd tolerated the nonsense that his best friend had spewed for years. Honestly, he'd be lying to state that he didn't relate to Scorpius, in the slightest, in terms of his admiration of someone from afar. Sometimes, Scorpius clapped after she'd walked past, exclaiming about a small change in appearance that proved cute. Of course, Albus did that too, but in private.
"Very pensive, indeed," Scorpius muttered.
Albus glanced up. "Oh, sorry. I just... is she a good match for you, Scorpius?"
"Well, I'm beyond caring. I will be the perfect boyfriend whether she's a good match or not. That's all I can do, and I'll never really know if someone's the right match without trying to find out."
"Okay, you do you. I'd prefer she asked me for permission to date you, considering that I consider myself your right-hand man. She better look after you, because I guarantee someone else would be honoured to be in her position."
"Oh, I highly doubt that."
"Would I lie to you?"
Scorpius opened his mouth to argue, then paused, but spoke anyway. "Yes? All the time?"
"Right, I forgot how much I do actually bend the truth."
"'Bend the truth' -- you are a pathological liar!"
"You're a pathological nerd."
Scorpius merely rolled his eyes, smiling, and made for the bathroom with the pyjamas he'd pulled from beneath his pillow. Albus flopped backward on his bed, tugging at his hair. His fingers passed over the cat's soft, fluffy fur. Albus suddenly sat up, smiling with a cheesy, bright expression. "Hey, favourite person on planet Earth?"
"Hey, pain in my ass who I love, for whatever reason?"
Albus' heart buzzed, and his grin became genuine. "How tired are you?"
"Do you need a favour?" Scorpius asked, his voice softer.
"Yeah. I was wondering if you could look at these drafts of letters for my parents. James wrote his half, so I won't touch that section... I can't decide, and I also can't find any grammatical errors?"
Scorpius wandered out of the bathroom; dressed in his too-large pyjamas, wearing a worn expression. Despite his tiredness, he smiled and wandered over to lay down on Albus' bed. He settled on his side and kicked his leg up, leaning on his elbow.
"Alright, kid, let's see what you've got."